


drive

by nazuniichans



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: I spent way too much time on this, M/M, THEYRE SO CUTE, op i hope you like it, this is ridiculously fluffy take kaokana away from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 20:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19980226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazuniichans/pseuds/nazuniichans
Summary: eso round 2 prompt"Kaoru and Kanata.... on a road trip..... like those aesthetic TM road trip pictures you find on pinterest... please im hongry"





	drive

“Kaoru..., it is ‘hot’..~” 

“Jeez, Kanata-kun. There are water bottles in the back. We just stopped, you know?”

“But Kaoru... I want us to get ‘there’ already..” Kanata huffed, lazing in the passenger seat. Their hands were intertwined over the gearshift and Kanata had his chin in his palm of the other, staring out the window as green scenery buzzed by. The air condition was all the way up, but Kaoru kind of rented a minivan under the table, so it wasn't the best and only blowing hot air on the both of them. He wanted to question where Kaoru— a barely-18-year-old-idol—was able to rent a minivan, but a mattress was in the back for the both of them to lay on so they didn’t have to pay for hotels or any more expenses than gas. Kanata couldn’t complain too much about anything besides the heat anyway. Their hands were sweaty but intertwined, and Kaoru was humming happily beside him as he paid attention to the road in front of him. Just that sight alone was enough for him to bite his tongue, content with seeing Kaoru happy and getting to spend time with Kaoru.

The blonde had tapped his smartphone screen by now, revealing the distance that still said ‘17hr, 43min’ on the way to Tsunoshima. They had mentioned this trip months ago on a whim in the Marine Bio classroom in passing but neither of them had expected it to actually become a reality. It was mainly a surprise on Kanata’s end, considering Kaoru came to his house, holding up a pair of keys, and giving Kanata no choice but to go with him. Kanata’s wasn’t too happy about the decision, as sudden as it was, but it couldn’t be helped. Kanata packing up his things and being out the door as fast as he could surely show that the blue-haired man wanted it just as much as the other did and overall, didn’t really care what his family wanted.

With another dramatic huff, Kanata slowly removed his hand from Kaoru’s to reach back and grab one of the water bottles from the cooler in the backseat. He pressed the chill surface against his forehead and tangled up their fingers again, clammy but not wanting to be apart for too long.

“... Kaoru, let us play a ‘game’.” Kanata said softly, vibrant eyes roaming the landscape in front of him before turning and giving the blonde a lazy smile, thumb stroking over the top of his hand. 

Kaoru laughed. It was light and airy and it sent butterflies to Kanata’s stomach. 

“Sure, sure. But what kind of game do you want to play in a car, Kanata-kun? I can only do so much while driving.” Kaoru replied, fingers drumming on the steering wheel as to prove a point. Kanata hummed in response before placing the water bottle between his legs after his forehead had cooled down, tucking one foot underneath his bottom, his curl swaying with every movement. 

“Hmm… would  _ ‘I Spy’ _ work for you? You do know how to ‘play’.. right?” Another laugh came out of Kaoru, giving Kanata’s hand a squeeze and turning very briefly to look at him, eyes sparkling before he glanced back to the road.

“Alright. Just don't make it too hard on me, okay? Since I’m driving and all.” 

“I won't, I won’t..~” Kanata waved him off, lips pursed before he shifted just a little more in his seat, sitting upright. A clear space was visible in front of them up ahead, the trees lessening as they continued down the road. Trees no longer encased the moving car and soon, a wide clearing was open on both sides. An endless field of assorted flowers on one side held Kanata’s gaze almost immediately. His green eyes went wide before he pressed a hand against the window, ogling and tapping at the window, a small noise of wonder leaving his lips.

“Kaoru, Kaoru… ‘I Spy’ something red..~” 

Kaoru laughed again, giving Kanata’s hand another squeeze.

“Is it the flowers?”

“..Yes..~ They are ‘beautiful’, are they not..?”

Kaoru smiled and decided to glance away from the road, eyes following Kanata’s to the field. He couldn’t help but look at his boyfriend though. Seeing Kanata so enchanted by things other than fish was a sight surely to be seen, and Kanata always looked the cutest when he was excited about something. 

Eyes back on the road, Kaoru let his gaze wander off in the distance, now looking for something to spot. Kanata seemed entranced by the flowers, but he still looked anyway. 

“Hey, Kanata-kun. ‘ _ I Spy’ _ something else beautiful.” A small smirk was evident on the blonde’s lips, bringing Kanata’s and his intertwined hands towards his mouth to gently press a kiss to the top of Kanata’s hand. 

It was ridiculously clichè and cheesy, but pink spread across the surface of his cheeks. Bubbling laughter left Kanata’s mouth, echoing in Kaoru’s ears like the gentlest of melodies; the sound was music to his ears. Kanata pulled his hand away from Kaoru’s mouth to in return kiss each one of Kaoru’s fingers, his other hand moving up to clasp his hand in both of his after the string of kisses. 

“Kaoru..~ you aren't even ‘spying’ me.” 

…

They were still ten hours away from their destination, but it was dark and both of them were exhausted. They had pulled off to the side at a rest area conveniently off on of the main roads. They escaped their seats with groans and stretches. Kaoru rested his hands on his lower back and pressed his palms into the muscles there, closing one eye. 

“Kanata-kun, are you hungry? We can go inside and grab something before we sleep.” 

Kanata smiled at Kaoru’s consideration before slowly walking over to him and intertwining their fingers, looking at him with tired eyes. 

“Mm..~ I would like to ‘eat’ if that is okay. Kaoru ‘needs’ to eat though too.” 

Kaoru nodded and returned a bright smile to the other, before pulling him towards the building and entering the little shop inside of the rest area. He made note of the time and how late it was, so Kaoru wanted to hurry so they wouldn't pester the employees too bad. He had bought whatever Kanata picked out, even as peculiar Kanata’s taste was, and they gathered up their snacks and headed back to the car to set up for bed. 

Kaoru had sprawled out on the mattress situated in the back of the minivan, limbs stretching from each corner like a starfish. Kanata was peering over the front seat to watch him, chewing happily on his seaweed chips and giggling softly at Kaoru’s movements on the mattress. 

“Is Kaoru ‘that’ tired..?” Kanata asked, head tilted. 

Kaoru nodded and rubbed at his eyes, letting out a soft sigh.

“Yeah. Driving took a lot out of me, actually. I’ve never driven that long before.” He commented softly, before staring up through the large sunroof up at the sky. The stars were twinkling brightly and Kaoru couldn’t help but smile, placing his hands over his stomach now, sighing. “The last time I traveled this long was with Mom.” 

Kanata remained silent, just simply eyeing the other and giving Kaoru the room to speak if need be. It was a comfortable silence for that moment. Kaoru continued. 

“We went a little further than where we’re going. She wanted to take me to this really cool cove on one of her work trips even if she wasn’t supposed to bring me. It took us 2 days to reach there. I thought it was weird we drove instead of flying, cause Mom usually took flights to places all the time, but she told me the car ride was an experience in and of its own. We bonded a lot during the ride, so now that I’m older, I wanted to try it myself.” 

Kanata wiped his hands on his pants leg before he leaned over the middle console and threaded his fingers through Kaoru’s blonde, long hair, still silent. 

“When we got there, I saw the coolest things, Kanata-kun. She let me pet the dolphins she was studying and we even swam with them. She took me in the lab with her as well and explained to me loads of stuff I didn’t even understand, but it was neat anyway, you know? I was only 7 so I was gawking at everything she did. But Mom always had that effect on me. She was just so passionate about her career and it rubbed off on me because of that passion. She really was just the best person ever and was always invested in what I was passionate about too.”

Kaoru’s eyes spilled over, but a smile remained on his face. By now, Kanata was putting his snack aside and slinking into the back seat, careful to avoid Kaoru’s sprawled out legs. He attached himself to Kaoru’s side, fingers trailing up the span of his chest before a palm rested over both of his hands. Kanata laid his head on Kaoru’s shoulder, watching him.

“I miss her. It really sucks, you know?” Kaoru paused before slipping one of his hands from underneath Kanata’s to lightly brush an index finger up Kanata’s cheekbone. His green eyes fluttered at the touch, closing and leaning into it. Kanata’s skin was so soft. Kaoru’s head turned so he could properly look at his boyfriend. 

“I wish she could have met you. She would have loved you so much, Kanata-kun.” 

Kaoru inhaled softly, chest heaving a little bit. He continued to stroke over his cheek, gently, as if Kanata would break. But Kanata isn't one to break easy. 

“...Kaoru.” Kanata spoke up finally, hand moving to still Kaoru’s. He intertwined their fingers together in a fluid movement but kept his hand over his cheek. He leaned over and pressed their lips together, feather-light and tender. He held the kiss for a moment, thumbs brushing along the top of Kaoru’s, coaxing him through his many emotions. Their breaths mixed in with each other's through their kiss and Kaoru could only sigh into Kanata’s mouth, taking in the sensation of his mouth against his own. The action calmed him down, tears drying as Kanata pulled back. 

He glanced up at Kaoru, checking over his expression once before chasing his lips again, only to give the blonde one more chaste kiss. 

“If she is anything ‘like’ Kaoru, I would ‘love’ her too..~” 

Kaoru smiled, pressing their foreheads together softly. His heart fluttered just a little. 

“I love you, Kanata-kun.”

“And I ‘love’ you, Kaoru.” 

…

They were back on the road early in the morning, getting closer and closer to their destination. Kanata was pouring soy sauce over one of the snacks that they had got yesterday, and Kaoru was trying not to cringe. The road proved to be a nice distraction though, aside from Kanata’s munching. 

“Are we almost ‘there’ yet..?” Kanata asked another goop of soy sauce landing generously on his little plate, a happy hum leaving his lips. 

“Uuuumm..~” Kaoru tapped at his smartphone, before shaking his head. “If you count being five hours away as being close?” 

Kanata sighed heavily and sprawled out his legs on the dashboard, stretching out. He was restless by now. Maybe a nap or two would make them get there faster, but Kanata wasn’t one to sleep in a car, so he had no choice but to stay awake. 

“Kaoru, I am going to ‘turn up’ the radio, ok..?”

Kaoru just nodded, eyes unpeeling from the road. Kanata reached forward and turned the dial until he found a station, a soft song playing. 

_ Let's go out for a drive _

_ Need a little sunshine, need a little sunshine. _

_ What a day for feeling alive, _

_ Want a little more time, just a little more time, _

_ With you. _

  
  


Kanata glanced over at Kaoru, chin in his palm and smiling as he watched Kaoru. He was singing along to the song. He had a slight smirk as the lyrics fell from his lips, tapping on the steering wheel. The windows were down so a light breeze was blowing through his hair. Kaoru always looked the best relaxed. 

__

_ Here we are, sitting by the sidewalk. _

_ Here we are, whistling a song. _

_ Close your eyes, I'll dream away with you. _

_ Lullabies, humming right along. _

_ When you're feeling lonely, when the stars are dim, _

_ I will love you only, love you to the end. _

_ Let's go out for a drive.  _

Kanata reached up to his hand as Kaoru continued to sing, gently cupping his cheek and stroking along the surface, a dopey smile on his lips. Kaoru jumped a little, expression in shock for a moment behind his sunglasses but eased up almost immediately. He nestled softly into the touch, laughing softly.

“Kanata-kun, you scared me.”

“Kaoru should be ‘paying’ more attention then..?” 

“Hey. Hush it. I’m the driver.” Kaoru chided back. 

Kanata just smiled fonder, eyes twinkling before his embrace turned into Kanata poking Kaoru’s cheek. 

“Kanata-kun.. stop that.” He turned his head in a poor attempt to bite Kanata’s finger. Kanata poked again.

“What was ‘that’, Kaoru..?” 

Kanata kept poking, and Kaoru’s eyes went off the road to stare at Kanata’s finger and bit at it. Kanata laughed at first, but his eyes went to the road at the sight of something in the middle of it and he gasped. 

“Kaoru!” 

Tires screeched and they spun.

…

Kaoru stood outside of his car now, a heavy sigh left his lips as he stared down at his flat tire. They hadn’t hit anyone, but a deer was in the road and Kaoru had to swerve to avoid it, making them go off the road, and conveniently hitting a nail. 

“...Kaoru.” 

He paced for a moment, hand cupping his chin with a frustrated groan coming out now. What were they supposed to do four hours away from their destination and sixteen away from home? 

“Sorry, Kanata-kun. I should have been paying attention.” 

Kanata hummed a little before shaking his head. 

“It is ‘okay’, Kaoru. Perhaps there is a ‘spare’ somewhere..?” 

Kaoru frowned deeply at that, before glaring at the flat tire once more. He didn’t want to think about if it  _ wasn’t _ just a deer and they had actually hit something, or another car. If Kanata had ever gotten hurt because of him, Kaoru wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive himself. 

“Let us ‘check’ the car for spares.” Kanata gently reached over and took Kaoru’s hand in his own, giving it a soft squeeze. The hand holding calmed him down, feeling his tense shoulders relax. He pulled the blonde to the back of the car and while Kanata held up their mattress, Kaoru popped open the lower compartment underneath it. Shuffling their things aside, luckily enough, there was a tire case inside at the bottom, containing the spare. 

“See..~? It will be ‘okay’. Do you know how to ‘change’ a tire?” Kanata asked softly and Kaoru nodded, collecting himself a bit more. With a bit more shuffling, Kaoru found the tire changing kit and began working on it. Kanata helped as best as he could, small encouragements coming from him and pulling Kaoru into a calmer state. Once the tire was changed, Kanata came by Kaoru with a wet rag and began wiping away some of the dirt off his face and hands, smiling up at him brightly. 

“Good job, Kaoru. I ‘love’ you.” Kanata placed his hands on the other’s chest and reached up to give him a soft kiss. Kaoru’s hands went to his waist to return the kiss, grateful. 

…

They were about a little over an hour away now and both of them were antsy and ready to get out of the van. Kanata was tapping at his screen playing some sort of Aquarium game and collecting items for his fish and Kaoru was still driving, sunglasses pushed back over his forehead and squinting at the road. 

“Should I get the ‘Football fish’..? He has a ‘light’ on him.” Kanata asked from the side, the calming music of his game filling up the car. Kaoru glanced to the side briefly as Kanata held up his phone and peered his green eyes above it, watching Kaoru’s reaction. “He is about 15 million ‘life’, but he is ‘rare’. Or should I ‘save’ for the sea otter..~”

“I like the otter. He’s cuter.” Kaoru commented before tilting down his sunglasses over his eyes again, the sun being too bright. Kanata nodded and decided to go with Kaoru’s opinion. The otter was cuter after all. 

Kanata wanted to talk more to Kaoru, so after a couple of quick taps and upgrading his coral, he put his phone aside and adjusted the pillow behind his head so he could place it in Kaoru’s lap. The blonde briefly looked down only to watch as Kanata sprawled across the front seats. 

“Shouldn’t you be wearing a seatbelt?” Kaoru asks, hiding his smirk as one hand went down to run his fingers through Kanata’s cyan hair, finger twirling around his one curl. 

“Shouldn’t Kaoru have ‘both’ hands on the wheel..?” Kanata retorted back before nuzzling closer to him, closing his eyes. “Kaoru, what do you ‘want’ to do now that we’ve ‘graduated’ from Yumenosaki?” 

Kaoru seemed deep in thought for a second, hands tenderly combing through the other’s hair and massaging at his head. Kanata would have fallen asleep if not for the fact he was wide awake. The touches were extremely gentle and soothing and he cooed when the top of his head was rubbed, eyes fluttering closed. 

“Well..~ I still want to make a band with Sakuma-san. We’re trying to figure out the living situation, but dad’s making it complicated. He can’t do anything about it though. Eventually, I’m gonna move out of the house and get away.” 

Kanata nodded, listening. He always listens, but Kaoru likes to ramble when he’s comfortable. So it’s always a good balance.

“Uh-huh.. and what else? Like Kaoru’s ‘future’..?”

Kaoru hummed and then laughed.

“Like.. aside from my career?”

Kanata nodded. 

“Well… I want to move away from my dad, that’s for sure. I’ve never been one for an extravagant living.. even though Dad is well off and tries to get me into that life, it’s just not for me.” Kaoru paused before glancing over his shoulder to look back as he got into another lane, eyes back on the road once more. “I don't know after that… what about you, Kanata-kun?”

Kanata lazily reached up, stroked along Kaoru’s cheek once before he grabbed his sunglasses from his face and prompted another smile from the blonde. He situated the glasses on his face before placing his hands over his stomach, thinking. 

“Well, if Kaoru wants me ‘around’, then I will always be ‘here’.” He responded and Kaoru kept massaging Kanata’s head, causing the other to lean back into it. “I will ‘follow’ you into the ‘deepest’ rivers, lakes, and oceans. Even if I am ‘drowning’, I will be ‘happy’ if I am with Kaoru.” 

Kanata smiled now too, his eyes lovingly staring up at his boyfriend from behind the sunglasses. He couldn’t help but wonder if Kaoru knew how loved he was. 

...

“ _ Arrived at your destination.”  _ The phone had said, an hour later. Kanata was sitting upright, glasses still perched on his nose and a gaze of wonder was set on his face as Kaoru turned onto the Tsunoshima Bridge. Crystal blue waves splashed up against the surface of the bridge and splotched lands of green were beautifully displayed in the distance as the bridge ran through the various islands above the sea. His eyes didn’t know where to look as he stuck his head out of the window, eager just to smell the fresh yet pang of salt in the air. Kanata closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, allowing the wind to blow through his cyan locks, contentment taking over him.

Kaoru could only do so much as the driver, but his look equally matched Kanata’s, eyes wandering with absolute adoration and wonder, and it only got better the further along the bridge they went. White seagulls joined the travel, flapping beside them before gliding out towards the green isles, small chirps from them, evident in their content. The bridge had wrapped around and between several islands before the actual Tsunoshima island came into display. Lush, rich greenery practically flooded the island, besides the little houses and shops that faced the ocean. It was truly a sight from a fairytale, or perhaps just a breathtaking sight. 

“Kaoru..! Kaoru…! Let us ‘park’ once we get off the bridge, I want to go ‘into’ the water!” Kanata wiggled a little, almost halfway out the window at this point. Kaoru couldn’t help but laugh at his excitement, agreeing with the proposal. A couple more minutes longer and Kaoru was parking in one of the parking spaces next to the ocean. He turned around to rummage through one of their bags in the back, containing a sunscreen bottle and other beach essentials. 

“Kanata-kun, before we go, we need to—“ Kaoru turned to face Kanata, to realize Kanata was certainly  _ not _ there anymore and was running away from the car very fast towards the sea. “Kanata-kun!”

Kaoru had dropped anything he grabbed and was now out of the car to run after him, stumbling a little on the sand, cause  _ Jeez, Kanata-kun was surely moving fast _ ! So fast that one of his flip flops had flown off, and— Oh, there goes the other one. He had reached the water and visibly slowed due to the friction of the waves, splashing around before reaching knee-deep in the water. 

“Kaoru..!” He called out, arms raised to extend high into the sky at his side, a wide smile splayed on his face. The wind whipped by and Kanata could only bask in the sunlight for a moment, inhaling deeply, before Kaoru was hot on his trail and wrapping his arms firmly around his waist, practically slamming into him. They stumbled a little but Kaoru caught Kanata before he could fall, clutching onto his boyfriend with an intense urgency to have him close and back in his arms. Happiness surged through both of their bodies and the tingles from each other heated skin was present. All each other could feel was the warmth of the other and all the butterflies and heart flutters that came with. Both of them were laughing loudly, and Kanata could only coo when the blonde lifted and spun him around in two circles. His grip on Kaoru was tight and his arms clung around his neck.

“Kaoru..~ Kaoru…~ Put me ‘down’.” Kanata said through his bubbling giggles, and Kaoru stilled the spinning to slowly lower Kanata back into the water. His hands stayed at his waist, looking down at Kanata and chuckling at how ridiculous he looked with sunglasses too big for his face on him. Kaoru raised his hands to slowly lift the sunglasses off Kanata’s face and positioned them out of the way so he could properly look at him. And Kanata was so beautiful; his eyes shone brighter than any neon green. His cheeks were so soft and tinted the perfect amount of pink. Cyan strands of hair cupped his face and made him look all the more beautifully, bringing out his cute button nose and rosy lips. Kaoru sighed happily; he was so in love. 

They were at a beautiful beach that they traveled 18 hours to get to, but Kaoru couldn’t tear his eyes away. 

“Kanata-kun.” 

“Kaoru…~” 

Kaoru smiled, his heart resonating with each sound of his name that escaped Kanata’s lips, which his brown eyes were now staring at. His hand lifted to gently brush part of Kanata’s hair behind his ear, earning a happy hum from him. With a gentle brush of their noses, Kaoru closed the distance between their lips. 

Kanata eased into the kiss easily, slotting his hands around Kaoru’s waist and tilting a little up into it, lips perfectly aligning with the others. Kanata had tasted a little salty, evidence of his consumption of soy sauce earlier, but Kaoru didn’t mind. He was used to the taste of Kanata and his tongue eagerly slid into his mouth to deepen the kiss, chasing after it. The blue-haired boy could only giggle into it and equally returned the effort, gently moving their tongues together before parting, foreheads pressed together. 

“Kanata-kun..” He mumbled, a bit out of breath, brown eyes gazing at him. 

“Yes, Kaoru..?” 

“I think I do know… what I want aside from my career. I want you forever.” 

Kanata blushed deeply at that before averting his eyes, puffing out his cheeks in embarrassment. 

“You already have me ‘forever’... silly Kaoru..” 

The blonde laughed before pressing a soft kiss onto Kanata’s forehead and sinking into the water with him, clutching him tightly. Even with the cool water soaking through their clothes and sticking to them, they felt warm. 


End file.
